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Clear the money bucket!

The Oil Fund is invested in belligerent countries such as Israel and the United States. Do you think this is okay, Kristin Halvorsen?




(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

[globalization] Something strange happened when there was a majority in the Storting for ethical guidelines for the oil fund in the spring of 2002. Frp changed his mind and went with the SV and Ap to dictate the Bondevik 2 government to think about ethics. NorWatch, SV and Norwegian Church Aid had revealed that the oil fund was involved in the production of land mines, cluster bombs and slave operations in Burma. "We can't live with these scandal revelations," Siv Jensen said as she turned, a statement that can be interpreted in several ways.

Kristin Halvorsen is now head of the Petroleum Fund, which has been formally renamed the «Government Pension Fund – Global». On October 17, Halvorsen has sat on the stool for a year, and through her first, own state budget, which was presented on October 6, she has shown what she wants to prioritize. What she has not prioritized is a revision of the ethical guidelines for the Petroleum Fund, which are so modest that the FRP has approved them.

These guidelines allow the Fund to invest in government bonds in warring countries such as Israel and the United States. Do you think this is okay, Halvorsen?

The fund, on the other hand, cannot invest in African countries, with the exception of South Africa. Although the managers find solid companies that can really provide long-term returns in stable and prosperous countries like Botswana and Senegal, the money cannot be invested here. These countries are in dire need of capital, and investment would help boost positive development.

Investments in alternative energy research can also yield long-term returns, and are also an ethical obligation to the children in Bangladesh. It is those who are hit hardest by floods caused by global warming, which in turn are caused by oil consumption which makes Norway perversely rich.

Norges Bank shall enforce the guidelines through active ownership, by participating in the companies' governing bodies. Professor Hans Petter Graver chaired the committee that promoted the ethical guidelines. He has criticized Norges Bank severely because the work on ownership is slow, and the bank shows little willingness to change its practice. In addition, it is important that Norges Bank, in the exercise of ownership, uses the assessments made by the Fund's Ethics Council in cases that do not lead to withdrawals. The Minister of Finance should also look into various forms of positive filtering and microcredit.

These inputs can contribute to the ethical guidelines becoming something more than a hypocritical shield against scratches in the Norwegian reputation paint. The Petroleum Fund shows how Norway is closely integrated into, and earns fat on, the globalized economy. If we who are to become the Norwegian pensioners of the future have a touch of decency, we are in favor of fairer management of the Petroleum Fund. Then we get splice on the flat screens.

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